J Integr Plant Biol. ›› 2011, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (10): 770-782.DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7909.2011.01072.x

• Cell and Developmental Biology •     Next Articles

Petal Development in Lotus japonicus

Lin Weng1, Zhaoxia Tian1, Xianzhong Feng2, Xin Li3, Shilei Xu1, Xiaohe Hu3, Da Luo1,3* and Jun Yang1*   

  1. 1National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
    2Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Research of Shandong Province, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, China
    3State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
  • Received:2011-05-11 Accepted:2011-09-04 Published:2011-09-09
  • About author:**Corresponding authors. Tel: +86 21 5492 4105; Fax: +86 21 5492 4015; E-mail: jyang@sibs.ac.cn Tel: +86 21 5492 4108; Fax: +86 21 5492 4015; Email: dluo@sibs.ac.cn

Abstract:

Previous studies have demonstrated that petal shape and size in legume flowers are determined by two separate mechanisms, dorsoventral (DV) and organ internal (IN) asymmetric mechanisms, respectively. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms controlling petal development in legumes. To address this question, we investigated petal development along the floral DV axis in Lotus japonicus with respect to cell and developmental biology by comparing wild-type legumes to mutants. Based on morphological markers, the entire course of petal development, from initiation to maturity, was grouped to define 3 phases or 13 stages. In terms of epidermal micromorphology from adaxial surface, mature petals were divided into several distinct domains, and characteristic epidermal cells of each petal differentiated at stage 9, while epidermal cells of all domains were observed until stage 12. TCP and MIXTA-like genes were found to be differentially expressed in various domains of petals at stages 9 and 12. Our results suggest that DV and IN mechanisms interplay at different stages of petal development, and their interaction at the cellular and molecular level guides the elaboration of domains within petals to achieve their ideal shape, and further suggest that TCP genes determine petal identity along the DV axis by regulating MIXTA-like gene expression.

Keywords: CYC-like TCP genes; epidermal cell; <i>Lotus japonicus</i>; MIXTA-like genes; petal.
 

Weng L, Tian Z, Feng X, Li X, Xu S, Hu X, Luo D, Yang J (2011) Petal development in <i>Lotus japonicus</i>. J. Integr. Plant Biol. 53(10), 770–782.

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